Many individuals, particularly the elderly and those suffering from arthritis, debilitating injury, handicap, and/or general loss of mobility, may have difficulty maneuvering around a bathroom. Falls in and around the bathroom are a leading cause of injury in the U.S. In particular, individuals with the aforementioned conditions may have trouble entering or exiting the bathtub area, or they may have difficulty managing the bathtub or shower equipment once in the tub. As a result, these persons may forego taking a bath or shower altogether and settle for alternate bathing methods, such as sponge baths and the like. Many people, however, find such alternative bathing methods unsatisfactory as this often represents a loss of independence.
Devices, such as grab bars, have been developed to alleviate some of these concerns, however, these features may be limited in where and how they can be positioned in the tub to provide the utmost utility to a bather. For example, a grab bar may have to be positioned on a wall having proper support (e.g., lumber studs, etc.). Placement of such features may not be based on location of proper support, which may lead to a less than optimal placement and design that could limit the safety and/or convenience benefits of the retrofit feature.